How are employers managing the impact of COVID-19?

It’s week five of lockdown and businesses have had to adapt and manage the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

A survey of *signatories to the REC’s Good Recruitment Collective conducted between 1 April and 16 April 2020 sheds light on what employers are most concerned about and the steps taken to manage the impact.    

Cash is the lifeblood of any business

If you’re worried about keeping your business afloat, you’re not alone. More than half (55%) of respondents said they were most concerned about their cash flow while more than two in five (44%) were worried about having to shut down part of their operations. Employers strive to manage the impact of COVID-19 by cutting all discretionary spend (55%) and closing offices/branches (37%).

With that in mind, it’s not surprising that half (52%) of respondents would like to see government speeding up access to financial support.

Managing a remote workforce

With almost all employers surveyed offering homeworking either to all employees (51%) or to some employees (46%), having to manage a remote workforce of this scale has become a pressing issue for businesses. In fact, three in four respondents are worried about maintaining staff performance and wellbeing, and two in five would like government to provide guidance on this. 

Encouragingly, four in five respondents have already introduced or plan to introduce remote working policies to support their staff. Two in five (44%) are looking to upgrade existing technologies or invest in new technologies in order to support remote working and business activities.

Good leaders recognise the importance of communication and showing empathy to support their remote workforce. The vast majority of respondents said their leaders and HR teams were doing so by:

• sending regular business updates to all staff (86%)
• circulating information and activities promoting wellbeing whilst homeworking (86%)
• allowing staff more flexibility to deal with sickness in the family (74%)
• holding virtual staff socials (67%).

Sustaining business performance during COVID-19 – Download top tips for recruitment leaders

Making workforce changes and embracing new ways of recruiting

At this time of unprecedented disruption, businesses have had to make changes to their workforce. The majority of respondents said their business had postponed hiring plans for permanent staff (75%) while more than half admitted their business had furloughed staff (55%).

Many businesses had been asking government for more clarity on furloughing – the online portal to claim from the Job Retention Scheme is now open. In addition, a quarter (23%) had reduced pay and one in ten had redeployed temporary workers.

But there are still businesses who are looking to fill roles. Demand in certain sectors such as health and social care, and logistics is holding strong. However, businesses have had to reconsider the ways they recruit amid the coronavirus crisis. Notably, 75% of those who are hiring have been conducting video interviews, 45% have enabled ID documents to be checked over video link and a quarter (26%) are using scanned images for DBS checks.  

Encouragingly, respondents remain confident that the economy and their business will bounce back – 32% said they were very confident and 63% stated they were confident but it will take time for the market to recover.

For more timely insights on employer sentiments and staff demand, visit our research hub.

*Note: REC surveyed 84 signatories to the Good Recruitment Collective that operate across sectors and regions between 1 April and 16 April.